Concerning Dwarves
by ennisjackgal
Summary: Set just after Desolation of Smaug. Bilbo thinks about his Dwarf companions and the family links between them.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's notes_

_Major spoilers for Desolation of Smaug. This is Bilbo thinking about the individual families of the Company. enjoy!_

_Kathryn xxx_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Thorin, Fili and Kili_

To say that Bilbo had been intimidated by Thorin during their first meeting would be an understatement. By the time they got to the mountain they were comfortable around each other but back then, Thorin had pretty much terrified him. But the other Dwarves had respected him as their leader and Bilbo had soon followed suit; he'd been brought up to respect authority figures.

Fili and Kili, on the other hand...he still couldn't quite believe that they were princes. While they did have a regal look about them, they could be very mischievous. He did like them, because they were very friendly and upbeat, but they reminded him of some of his boisterous young cousins. Not to mention that they had been the ones to start throwing his dishes around and singing.

He'd been very surprised to learn that Thorin was their uncle and father figure; he wondered what it had been like for them growing up. Kili looked just like him, so Bilbo figured that he took after their mother's side of the family. Fili must take after his father, but he had the blue eyes of Thorin's ancestors. He did look like someone who could be King one day, clearly taking after Thorin in that respect.

Throughout the journey, the young princes had shown that while they could be very brave, they could also be reckless. The situation with the trolls was a classic example; how they had got him to investigate on his own. But at least Kili had tried to rescue him on his own; Bilbo did appreciate the effort.

He could see why Thorin was sometimes hard on them; he didn't want them thinking that this journey would be easy and safe. And he was right to do so; poor Kili had learned it the hard way when they had tried to escape Mirkwood. But he had saved the rest of the Company in doing so and that was no small thing; Bilbo just hoped that he wasn't going to pay the heaviest price for his bravery. Hopefully he had recovered by now.

Bilbo had watched all three of them closely during this time; it was clear that Fili took his responsibility as the older brother very seriously; he'd barely left Kili's side and had flat out refused to leave him in Laketown. He'd wondered if Thorin might be angry about that but the King had let it go, and now Bilbo was worried about that. Smaug was currently heading for Laketown and he had no idea how Kili was faring; what if he'd become ill and couldn't defend himself? He was actually glad that Kili had three others to take care of him.

Balin had told him that Thorin used to read the princes stories of Erebor while they were growing up, which surprised him; Thorin didn't seem the type for that sort of thing. Maybe he was just different with his nephews. Bilbo wondered how Thorin was going to react when he realised that he'd pretty much goaded Smaug into attacking the town, especially if Kili was ill. If something happened, Thorin would never forgive himself.

He remembered the conversation during their departure and what it meant.

"_Uncle. We grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us. You cannot take that away from him!"_

"_Fili-"_

"_I will carry him if I must!"_

"_One day you will be King, and you will understand. I cannot risk this quest for the sake of one Dwarf, not even my own kin."_

"_Fili, don't be a fool. You belong with the Company."_

"_I belong with my brother."_

Bilbo smiled slightly; if anyone was going to give Thorin a telling-off it would be Fili; he clearly wasn't too intimidated to do so. Since Fili was Thorin's heir, it would probably have been his duty to come with them to find the hidden door. But Fili had given that up to tend to Kili. Bilbo had thought that Dwarves were selfish and greedy, but not Fili; maybe it was due to his youth or the bond he had with his brother.

One thing he did know was that Fili and Kili had always been nice to him, and maybe they were amongst the members who had bet that he would turn up. From his conversations with the older members, Bilbo had figured out that Fili was barely into adulthood by Dwarf-reckoning, and Kili was still technically an adolescent.

Bilbo thought about the gold sickness that plagued Thorin's family and what Smaug had told him about the Arkenstone. If he was to be believed, then surely giving Thorin the stone would drive him mad? Bilbo thought about the stone, safely hidden away in his coat where nobody would find it. He was in two minds; Thorin needed it in order to become King, but at what cost?

Maybe Fili and Kili would be here soon, so that they could keep their uncle grounded even when he did have the gem in his hands. Perhaps the love that Thorin held for them would remind him of what was truly important and stop him from succumbing to the sickness. It was the only thing that Bilbo could really count on; Gandalf was still nowhere to be seen and they had no idea where he was.

Bilbo looked to his left; Thorin was talking to Dwalin quietly about what they were going to do now. There had been a horrible moment when Thorin had kept himself separate from him and Balin as Smaug chased them; Bilbo hadn't wanted him to do that, truth be told. Thorin was his friend now, but Bilbo would always remember the look in his eyes when Thorin had asked about the Arkenstone and he'd taken far too long to answer. He hoped to never see that look again and wondered what he was going to do with the gem. He didn't have any answers, but he knew it would be a while before any of this was over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Balin and Dwalin_

Balin was the oldest and wisest Dwarf in the Company, and Bilbo could see why he was Thorin's advisor. He enjoyed it when Balin would tell stories from Erebor and how things used to be, despite the sadness in his eyes whenever it came up. But he was a good storyteller and everybody seemed to like listening to his tales of the past.

He often wondered how Balin felt about the quest, and whether he was questioning its worth compared to what they already had. He knew it had been a long time since Smaug attacked Erebor, but at least they had the mountain back now like the Dwarves had wanted.

But Smaug would be attacking Laketown now and Bilbo could hear Balin whispering urgently to Thorin on the other side of the room. He couldn't hear them but he figured that Balin was telling Thorin that they needed to do something; Fili, Kili, Bofur and Oin were all in danger, provided that Kili hadn't already died from his wounds. How might Thorin react if that happened?

He thought back to when Balin had told them about the Battle of Azanulbizar and how Thorin had earned the name Oakenshield. It had been an engrossing story for him to listen to and he wondered how Thorin had felt to see Azog kill his grandfather in such a horrific way. No wonder Thorin had been so determined to kill Azog when they had come face to face again; anybody would feel that way if they were in the same situation and had enough hatred for that other being.

Dwalin couldn't be more different from his brother. Tall, covered in tattoos and bald on top; not really the image of Balin in any way. Bilbo remembered when they had reunited in his house, including that bizarre headbutt greeting. But he'd soon learned that they were very close and it did show; all of the family groups were close, rather like Hobbits.

The warrior had turned out to be a close friend of Thorin's, and his confidant. Bilbo figured that the pair of them had grown up together and sparred for training and fun. He didn't quite understand how Dwarves could derive pleasure from such things but they were very different species, after all. They probably didn't understand half of the things he did, like gardening.

He had soon learned that Dwalin was extremely loyal to Thorin as his King and leader, and had never questioned any of his friend's decisions. That showed Bilbo the kind of respect that Thorin had within the group and he too showed that whenever he could.

Bilbo thought about when he had slipped just after their encounter with the Stone Giants, and how Thorin had been the one to save him. Dwalin had pulled the King back up and that had showed Bilbo that the Dwarves did indeed work as one with no thought for themselves. They focused on looking after each other.

He'd seen this many times during their journey, and he did like how united they were no matter what they faced. When they had tried to defeat Smaug within the mountain, for example; they had all stood together even if they had been terrified of what might happen. Dwarves were a very brave race, it seemed to him.

Bilbo had been very apprehensive of Dwalin when they had first met and for a while after. This strange Dwarf had turned up at his door unexpectedly and helped himself to Bilbo's supper. Bilbo hadn't a clue what to do except let him, since he figured Dwalin wouldn't take too kindly to being refused. But as time had gone on, he hadn't been so scared of the warrior; Dwalin was just very protective of those he loved. Since Bilbo had been accepted by Thorin, the rest of them were a lot more friendly towards him and that included Dwalin. It felt good to know that there were some strong and loyal characters who had his back.

When he looked at Balin and Dwalin together, he would never have guessed that they were brothers. They looked so different, and where Dwalin had a temper, Balin was mostly calm and rational. He had heard that they looked more like some years ago before Balin's hair and beard turned white, and he wondered what it had been like when they were growing up. No doubt it had been quite raucous with Dwalin around. But most of the Dwarves could get like that when they were excitable, especially after consuming ale and food. They seemed to turn every meal into a food fight, which he had despaired of in Bag End but liked watching elsewhere, such as Rivendell. They were admittedly a lot of fun to be around when they could relax, and he hoped that he would see more of that once everything had settled down again. He hoped that Smaug would be killed soon and that the Company would be whole again so that they could focus on rebuilding Erebor.

Bilbo thought about the relationships between the Dwarves a lot, and marvelled at how close they were even if some of them hadn't seen each other for a while by the time the quest had started. Balin clearly hadn't seen Dwalin for a while, judging by what they had said when they'd met up in Bag End.

Maybe the Dwarves could be raucous and uncouth sometimes, but at the end of the day they were loyal to each other and those they considered friends. Bilbo felt privileged to be part of this group now because this was so much better than how his life would have been. He was happy that he had chosen to run after them and take part in this quest; the future before him had seemed so bleak before but now at least he'd had an adventure like he'd always wanted. He just hoped that he would make it back home in one piece.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Oin and Gloin_

These two cousins of Thorin were an interesting pair to watch. Bilbo knew that Oin had plenty of skill as the group's healer, but suffered from almost total deafness which meant he wasn't exactly an alert member of the group. But Bilbo did appreciate how good he was at healing injuries; he had helped Thorin after their encounter with Azog and was staying in Laketown to try and help Kili; Bilbo just hoped that the Dwarf's skills would be enough to cure the young Prince of whatever was ailing him. Bilbo wasn't convinced that it was just a simple wound, not when it had come from an orc.

He thought about how Oin seemed to be able to interpret supposed signs that it was time for them to take back the mountain and wanted to know more about that. He'd always taken an interest in the outside world but had never before thought that he would actually get to see it. Now that he had, he wanted to know as much as he could and Oin seemed like a good Dwarf to ask about it. His age gave him wisdom, like Balin, and they were always interesting to listen to when the Company stopped for the night and gathered around the campfire.

Where Oin was mostly calm and patient, his brother Gloin could not be more different. He could have a temper sometimes and seriously hated Elves. But he wasn't all bad; he'd shown Bilbo the pictures of his wife and son that he carried with him, and Bilbo could see that he loved them very much. No doubt Gimli would grow up to look just like his father, and he figured that Gloin would be very proud if this was the case. Dwarves were a very family-oriented group, just like Hobbits.

Bilbo had heard that as a healer, Oin had sometimes delivered Dwarf children in his life. One of these, he had heard, had been his own nephew Gimli. There was a rumour that Oin had dropped the Dwarfling on his head during the delivery, but that Dwarves had harder skulls than other beings. He knew that to be true, judging by the headbutts that the Dwarves frequently gave each other. He hoped that none of them wanted to try that with him; he didn't think he could take it and might even pass out.

Gloin was known as the group's banker, funding the trip. But Bilbo could remember how guarded he could be with the money and smirked to himself as he observed the others. He could remember how Gloin had initially been reluctant to pay his share towards Bard but had soon changed his mind after seeing the mountain; that told Bilbo a lot about how much this quest meant to them.

He did enjoy their company despite how irritating some of them could be. They had accepted him into the group after he had saved Thorin and he was glad that he'd done it. He just hoped that the Dwarves' notorious lust for gold didn't completely consume them; that was a very worrying thought and he didn't want his friends to deteriorate in such a way. What if they turned into Gollum-like creatures, fixated on their golden possessions?

Bilbo knew that they were relations of Thorin and wondered how far along the line of ascension they were. He'd heard that a cousin of Thorin's, Dain of the Iron Hills, was next in line after Kili (although Fili would likely produce an heir). But he figured that none of Thorin's relations within the Company were too worried about ascending to the throne because there were so many before them. Even Kili didn't have too much to worry about as long as Fili had a son before he died. Even he could tell that Kili might never be ready to take the throne; his spirit was too free to be tied down in such a way.

He wondered how the Dwarves in Laketown were faring and if Kili was in serious danger; he knew that Oin's healing skills were very good, so maybe there was nothing to worry about. He was sure that Oin was doing everything he could for the young Prince; Kili was in good hands right now so Bilbo was trying not to worry.

Bilbo fondly remembered the first conversation he'd had with Oin, in Bag End. He had tried to get something back from Bifur, only for the injured Dwarf to talk to him in rapid Khuzdul. He'd been thoroughly confused until Oin had spoken up.

"_He's got...an injury," Oin said to him, nodding._

"_You mean the axe in his head?" Bilbo asked, almost sarcastically. Oin raised his ear trumpet, which didn't seem to help his hearing problem. It would later be used by Dwalin at the dinner table for playing pranks on its owner._

"_Dead? No, only between his ears. His legs work fine."_

Bilbo had been confused at first, but he could smile about it now. The Dwarves all looked out for each other; that much was clear and he enjoyed watching them interact with each other. Although they often wound each other up, they were still fiercely loyal to one another.

Even though not all of them were related to each other, it was clear that they all considered each other family. Every single one of them had their role within the Company and the quest, and he had enjoyed these past few months on the road with them. When he did eventually leave here after everything had settled, he knew that he would miss all of them and wondered if he could return for a visit one day; he hoped that he would be welcome.

Thorin certainly seemed open to him staying for a while and making return visits, at least for now. But what about when he found out that Bilbo had the Arkenstone and had lied to him? He didn't want to think about that right now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Dori, Nori and Ori_

These distant kinsmen of Thorin had an interesting dynamic. Bilbo had heard many stories from Nori of what he'd been up to in the last few years; apparently he left home and lived rough, dealing with unsavoury characters and pilfering anything he could find value in. Sadly, this tended to get him into trouble and it came as no surprise to Bilbo that he had been locked up several times.

As a result, he had a strained relationship with Dori and barely even knew his little brother. Bilbo could see the look on Ori's face as he heard the stories; he clearly wanted to be more like that but there was no way that Dori would ever let him. He was definitely a mother hen figure and Bilbo could honestly see why Nori had chosen to leave; nobody could stand that for long.

Bilbo had heard a rumour that these brothers had the same mother but three different fathers, which could account for why they looked so different. But it never showed when they interacted; they obviously loved each other a lot and that was very important for Dwarves; family always came first. He was concerned that Thorin had lost sight of this, but the others seemed to understand it still.

He had noticed that Dori had kept Ori by his side when the group split up to confuse Smaug, which didn't surprise him. Maybe their mother had died so Dori had taken it upon himself to look after his younger brothers, which he could appreciate. Hobbits were also close to their families and he would be willing to take on a young relative if something should happen to their parents. He did like his younger relatives, especially on the Took side; they were adventurous and reminded him of his younger self before middle age had begun to set in.

He thought about their relationship to Thorin, and knew that they were only distantly related. They had no chance of ever coming to the throne so there was no pressure on them like there was for Fili and Kili; this gave them the chance to focus on rebuilding their broken relationships, especially Nori since he hadn't seen the other two for a while. It had been several years since he'd last seen Ori and the younger one didn't know him well at all. Maybe they would get to spend time together once they were living in the mountain.

But he could tell that Nori would like to interact with Ori more, if only the eldest brother would allow him to have any kind of influence. Surely Nori wasn't all bad? He was certainly a thief and had stolen from both Bag End and Rivendell, but Bilbo figured he would be okay with Ori. He had been proud of his little brother when the latter had talked about taking on Smaug by himself and pretending to be brave. On some level, maybe Ori had done that for his older brother's benefit.

Ori was a very nice young Dwarf. Bilbo wasn't sure if he was older than Fili and Kili but he could certainly pass for it. He talked to Bilbo when Dori left him alone to fuss over Nori and they had become good friends. During their rest in Rivendell, Bilbo had found the library and Ori had soon joined him in there, fascinated by the many ancient tomes and he spent time writing in his journal. He had taken on the job as chronicler of the quest and was always making notes whenever they stopped for a break; he had even convinced Bilbo to sit down for a portrait, which he hadn't been sure about.

"_Are you sure about this?" he asked dubiously as he sat on a flat rock, ignoring the snickers of Kili and Fili nearby. He would chase them down later._

"_Sure. You're our burglar and you're part of the quest. A very important one," Ori replied eagerly, and Nori nodded in agreement. As a thief, he could see Bilbo's potential as a burglar._

_Bilbo glared at the young princes, who soon shut up at the look on his face. Maybe Thorin would tell them off for antagonising him._

Nori had talked to Bilbo about teaching him a few tricks, but they simply hadn't found the time and now it looked as though their journey was complete. Someone, probably Bard, was bound to kill Smaug when he reached Laketown so then Erebor would belong to the Dwarves again. He wasn't likely to be a burglar ever again after this quest, but maybe he could stay on for a while and help the Dwarves build their home back up. He could learn a few things from Nori then, and his Ring was bound to be useful at some point as it already had been so many times.

Bilbo wasn't sure about the Ring, especially when he had gone berserk on that spider in Mirkwood when it had touched the little band of gold. He didn't know what came over him, but he tried not to think about it; he was scared of what it might mean. Was the Ring having some kind of effect on him?

Dori hadn't tried to mother him during their quest, which Bilbo had been surprised by since his own parents were dead and he'd half-expected Dori to fuss over him. But despite his pecking nature, he too was very nice once you got to know him. He loved his brothers and simply wanted what was best for them. Bilbo liked that they had an older brother who cared about them so much; all of the family units looked after each other.

Bilbo liked every single one of the Dwarves, and they seemed to like him. He hoped that he would get to see them again after he returned home, but he would have to get some extra food in first. So he would need a warning if they were planning a visit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Bofur, Bifur and Bombur_

These three Dwarves were the only ones in the Company that weren't related to Thorin, so Bilbo had found out. But none of the others seemed to care about this; they treated the other three with just as much respect as they did for each other and Thorin treated everybody equally. This was a very admirable quality in a King and Bilbo respected that about him.

Bofur was one who had made the first effort to get to know Bilbo and accept him into the group. He was friendly and approachable, which made Bilbo feel more at ease in the early days (even if he had scared him by talking about Smaug). He had even tried to persuade Bilbo to stay when he'd wanted to leave, and Bilbo did appreciate the gesture despite having made up his mind.

"_You're part of the Company. You're one of us."_

"_I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do."_

At the moment, Bofur was still in Laketown because he'd missed the boat; they'd had a raucous party the night before so it was no wonder that he'd fallen asleep so deeply. Dwarves did like a drink, after all. Maybe he was looking after Kili with Fili and Oin; he seemed to like the young princes and even knew them when they were younger, in the Blue Mountains. That didn't surprise Bilbo; the Dwarf must be good with young ones if he was a toymaker.

Bilbo had recovered from what Bofur had said about Smaug, but in hindsight he figured that the words had served as a good warning for him. At least he'd had some idea of what to expect from the dragon.

"_Think furnace with wings!"_

"_Flash of light, searing pain then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!" _

Bifur was a strange one. Oin had said that he had an injury, the axe in his head. Bofur had told Bilbo that some years ago, they had been living in the Blue Mountains when there had been an Orc attack. That was where the injury came from and Bifur hadn't been the same since. He used to be a very articulate Dwarf but now he was sadly a shadow of his former self. But he did still like to make toys like his cousins and they looked after him as much as they could. He'd seen this a lot during their journey. And Bifur did his part when they were fighting Orcs, perhaps more than he probably should because of his anger at the orc that hurt him.

In Mirkwood, the Company had spent some time resting from their trek (some of them being affected worse than others) and Bilbo had found himself sitting near Bifur. They hadn't been able to talk, since Bifur could only use Khuzdul, but at least Bilbo hadn't been alone when the rest were asleep. That had been a small comfort, he thought to himself now as he sat looking around the Smaug-free room.

He knew that the three of them were toymakers and had earned their living doing this, both for Dwarflings and even human children sometimes (depending on how far they travelled). Before Bofur had gotten so drunk at the party, Bilbo had spotted him showing toys to some of the younger residents of Laketown. He had a feeling that such toys would appeal to young hobbits back in the Shire if Bofur ever got the chance to meet them. Bilbo especially thought that his young Took cousins wouldn't be too shy about meeting a Dwarf. They were very curious, as he used to be.

Bombur was different from the other Dwarves in terms of his size alone. He was at least twice the width of some of the others, like Fili and Kili. He loved to eat and was probably mostly responsible for Bilbo's empty pantry; he was even eating during the conversation they had after Thorin arrived, when everyone else was listening. But he was a very good cook as a result of loving food so much, even if he did try to eat more than his fair share; that was where Bofur kept him in line. But that didn't mean that Bombur's portions of their food weren't larger than everyone else's.

Bilbo had found out that since the three of them weren't related to Thorin (instead being descended from Dwarves of Moria), this was reflected in their choice of weapons. Instead of the usual swords or axes, Bofur used his mattock, Bifur used a hunting spear...and Bombur often used his very large soup ladle. Despite not being flashy or typical Dwarven weapons, they were still very useful and Bilbo would not like to be on the receiving end of them. The three Dwarves fought with perhaps less finesse than someone like Thorin or his nephews, but they were grittier and still packed a lot of power.

But a favourite moment had taken place during their barrel ride, or what Bilbo could remember of it when he was trying not to drown. Bombur had ended up on the bank somehow, taking down Orcs from just being in the barrel and rolling around. He'd seen a bit of it when they were moving along and he could laugh about it now with the Dwarves who had also witnessed it; Bombur had single-handedly taken out many of their foes during that short space of time.

Bilbo liked all of the Dwarves; each of them had good qualities and not a single one would do anything to deliberately sabotage the quest. Kili's injury had not been his own fault; he'd been trying to save the rest of them from becoming targets and it had worked. Each Dwarf brought something to this mission and they would all benefit from having the mountain under Thorin's control. But Bilbo had to wonder if any of them were going to lose something. He had a horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen to Thorin.


End file.
